The Commons at work

Abstract

The House of Commons sits for only about 160 days a year. Its hours are from 2.30 to 10.30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, and from 11.00 to 4.30 p.m. on Fridays. The proceedings are open to the public unless the traditional cry of ‘I spy strangers!’ gets the gallery cleared for a secret session, though this occurs usually only in wartime; MPs carry on a permanent fiction that there are no strangers in the House normally and no one would dream of referring to the public gallery.

Keywords

Prime Minister Party Line Government Motion Supplementary Question Secret Session

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